Wagon-tongue support



(No Model.)

B. W. DAVIS.

WAGON TONGUE SUPPORT.

No. 248,294. Fatented 0st. 18,1881.

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NTTED STATES PATENT Trice.

ROBERT V. DAVIS, OF ELMIRA, NE\V YORK.

WAGON-TONGUE SUPPORT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 248,294, dated October 18, 1881. I Application filed March 10, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT W. DAVIS, of Elmira, in the county of ()hemung and State ofNew York, and acitizen ofthe United States, have invented a new and usefullmprovement in Props or Supports for Poles ot' Wheeled Vehicles, of which the following is aspecitication.

My invention relates to props or supports for wagon and carriage poles, whereby the weight of such poles is kept from hearing down too heavily upon the team while the wagon or carriage is in motion and while standing still.

My improvement consists in a prop having a top surface which is parallel with that portion of the pole which bears upon it, and an inclined surface beneath said parallel surface, which is form ed with a series of steps or notches standing at altitudes of gradually-deereasing distances from the parallel bearing-surface abovementioned, from the rear to thefront end of the prop or support, whereby the prop or support may be adjusted upon its hanger or bracket in a manner to keep the pole a little above a horizontal position or a little below such a position orin aninterinediate position, or in a position which will allow the front end of the pole to rest upon the ground, the adjustments above mentioned, except the last one, serving to adapt the pole to the height of harness for different-size teams, and thus relieve the team, whether small or large in size, from the weight of the pole or tongue, while thelast-mentioned adjustment serves for lowering the pole to the ground when the team is released from it, and thus placing it out of a position dangerous to animals, and relieving the springs and other parts of the wagon or carriage gear from the strain caused by the weight ofthe pole when the wagon or carriage is not in use.

My invention further consists in the combination of the stepped prop or support with a yielding bracket or hanger formed with coils between its front and rear portions,and which extends under the wagon-axle,fits on the pivotpin of the pole, extends forward under the pole, and receives the stepped prop or support upon its cross-bar, as will be presently described; and itfurther consistsin certain other constructions and combinations hcreinaficrdescribed and claimed. v In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a top view of a wagon or carriage pole, a portion of an axle, the houudsofsaid parts, and my improved prop or support applied thereto. Fig. 2is a longitudinal section of Fig. 1 in the line 90:0, showing the pole propped up. Fig. 3 is a detail section of the stepped prop or support. Fig. 4 is a cross-section of the same, and Fig. 5 is a section showing the pole lowered and its front end resting on the ground.

The pole A anti hounds a, and the axle B and hounds b, are of ordinary construction. The prop or support 0 is of a form, in longitudinal section, approximating to that of a triangle withone of its sides open. The part-c of this support is parallel with that portion of the tongue which rests upon it, and on each edge of this part serrated ribs 01 are provided for the purpose of forming a bearing for the tongue, and upon which it will not be liable to slip or move, either longitudinally or sidewise, the serrations and ribs serving to effect this result. Beneath this ribbed portion an inclined portion, 0, with a series of stepped notches,fff f is formed. The steps rise from the rear to the front end of the support 0, as shown. The step f enables the tongue to be set in a position which is a little above a horizontalplane, while the step f enables the tongue to be set so that its front end rests upon the ground. The intermediate steps, f f enable the tongue to be set in a horizontal position, or a suitable height with respect to the sizes of the different teams or requirements of the harness in use. When the tongue is adjusted by the notch f the weight of the tongue will be resting on the ground, and the springs of the wagon or carriage will be relieved ofstrain. The support Gis placed upon a slightly-yielding bracket or hanger, D, which at its rearend is formed with two prongs, 99, to bear under the axle B, and at a point somewhat forward of the middle of the length of these prongs coils are made to form eyes h h for the pivot-pim'ot the tongue to pass through, and forward of these eyes a cross bend or bar, j, unites the two prongs. The crossbarj is inserted through the rear open end of the support or prop G, and a flat strap, E, is passed aroundthe prop and fastened by its ends to the top of the same, as shown. This strap serves to prevent the prop or support from falling off the bracket or hanger D.

From the foregoing specification it will be seen that the prop will at all times present a parallel bearing-surface to the tongue, and that the desired adjustments can be "cry readily efi'ected by simply raising the pole or tongue with the hands above its bearing position, and slipping the support backward or forward a proper distance for bringing the bar i of the bracket or hanger into the proper or desired notch, and that when the plateis slipped backward from the position shown in Fig. 1 to the notch f or f or f the height of the tongue will be changed, thelatter notch allowingit to rest with its front end upon the ground.

It is quite essential where tongues or poles of wagons are held up by props to provide means in such props whereby the tongues or poles may be lowered so as to rest upon the ground when the teams are unharnessed and wagons not in use, for it the poles are allowed to remain propped up in a yard animals are liable to run against the same and be injured, and besides this the weight of the poles unnecessarily strains the springs and other parts of the wagons if they are allowed to remain propped up.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The pole prop or support constructed with a series of notches at different altitudes beneath its bearing-surface, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. The pole prop or support provided with a series of notches at different altitudes beneath its bearing-surface, in combination with the bracket or hanger, and with the pole or tongue of a wagon or carriage, substantially as described.

3. The pole prop or support confined on the bracket by means of a strap passed around the prop, substantially as described.

4. The pole prop or support made with a series of stepped notches and arranged to be adjusted longitudinally upon the bracket or hanger, substantially as described.

5. The pole prop or support provided with stepped notches, and with serrated ribs, substantially as and for the purpose described.

6. The bracket or hanger formed with eyes to receive the pivot-pin of a wagon pole or tongue, in combination with the pole prop or supportformed with aseries ofstepped notches, substantially as described.

ROBERT WV. DAVIS.

Witnesses DAVID UROH, J. P. THEO. LANG. 

